Category Archives: Results

Events, Members, Results, Thornbury Running Club

Race report – TRC 10k Club Championship, 27th April 2023

The last time TRC members flooded the banks of the Severn in large numbers was during last summer’s Mob Match with Chepstow, when the temperature was well above 30 degrees, and sunglasses, hats and ice-packs were the order of the day.

Last Thursday evening was just mizzly-drizzly, as it has been since, well, late 2022. Not an encouraging meteorological backdrop to the Club’s annual 10k Championships.

Despite suggesting that we just say Nick won, and head straight to the bar, the race did go ahead.  And the inauspicious cold and wet actually proved to be ideal racing conditions once the shock of stripping down to the club vest was overcome.  Some of the times recorded were exceptional, and a few club members even recorded 10k PBs which is a marvellous achievement on that course.

We ran the new Thornbury 10k route in reverse – starting with the ‘pan flat’ sections around Oldbury Naite, before heading down Kington Lane, turning right and continuing the undulating loop round towards the imaginatively named Cow Hill – (‘say what you see’). Any runner who had overcooked it by this point then faced a gruelling final mile.  The climb into Cow Hill is bad enough, but we then had to negotiate the final hill up to St Arilda’s church.  She has been a welcoming sight for ascending worshippers for over 700 years, but last Thursday doubled as the dispiritingly distant – yet highly visible – 6-mile marker. If the lungs were not bust by that point, the quads would be on the final 400 metre sprint down the other side of the hill before collapsing into the hopsy, malty embrace of the Anchor pub at the finish line. 

We must  give a huge thank you to the marshals who not only forewent their chance to run, but also stood still in the cold and rain for well over an hour.  It is hugely appreciated by all those who compete.  I never have enough breath to offer a breezy ‘thank you marshal’ as I run by, so I’ll put my gratitude in writing instead.

The race was a straight shootout – no age-graded adjustments on this occasion.  However, before we come to the winners, a special mention to those TRC members who ran a PB on this testing course.  Yes, conditions were good, but to get a PB on that route suggests some of us are in very fine form indeed.   Congratulations, therefore, to Chris Pritchard and Liz Ball for their lifetime best 10ks.

The women’s race looked very close on paper, and it was surprising and impressive in equal measure to see the club’s London Marathon record holder, Jessica Heffer, line up just four days after her stunning run in the capital.  Yet a quick massage, and a spincycle (on a bike, not a washing machine) seemed to have done the trick. She was the clear winner in a fantastic time of 41 minutes and 16 seconds.  Last year’s winner, Ali Vaz, had to settle for second, in a still excellent time of 43:27, with Hannah Hamilton in third in 44:59.  Melanie Wilson and Megan Harrison completed a high-quality top five.

Nick Williams did lead from start to finish, but there was a lot more drama in the men’s race than might have been expected.  Nick ran an incredible time of 35 minutes and 45 seconds, which is precisely the same time as he managed just over a year ago when the course was run in reverse. How’s that for consistency?!

Nick would possibly have been surprised to have been pushed quite so hard by Ben Bohane.  Fresh from his triumphant PB at the Newport Marathon, Ben showed what good form he is in by working his way through the field to finish second in 36:24.  Andy Wilson had an excellent tune-up for the Bristol Half with a fine third place in 37:08.  Peter Cable ran a strong final mile to overhaul Sean Leadbetter as the two finished fourth and fifth respectively.  We must also mention new-ish member Mark Hanson who came sixth in the excellent time of 38:53.  

Members, Results

Race Report – Marathon Special

 

April 2023 has been a busy month for Club marathon running with members travelling the Country in search of fast times. Well done to all TRC runners for taking part and for some stellar times. Here, in their words, are race reports from Newport, Manchester and London.

Newport – Ben Bohane

The ABP Newport Wales Marathon took place on Sunday 16 April 2023 with the race starting and finishing on the riverfront in the heart of the regenerated city-centre. It is the only city marathon I have done (and possibly the only one left?) where you can park more or less next on the finish line! 

Apparently one of the flattest marathon courses in the UK where many finishers claim PBs. A lonely route in parts but with a very scenic run across the Gwent Levels, along country lanes and through picturesque medieval villages like Magor, Redwick and Llandevenney – where the crowd support was amazing and made up for those quiet lanes. It ended by passing the city’s most famous landmark – the Transporter Bridge. I ran a 2:46 and came 29th out of 1712 finishers. For me that was over 11 mins off my PB (2:57) which I did in 2015. Meanwhile Sean Leadbeater ran the Newport 10k in 37:46 at the same event.

Manchester – George Evans

Manchester marathon is well known for being a fast flat course. Conditions on 14th April were near on perfect: cool, a faint breeze and occasional very light rain to cool you off. That said, as anyone that has ever run one knows, a marathon is never to be taken lightly.

Over 18,000 runners lined up to the sounds of a Mancunian warm up. This included five TRC runners chomping at the bit to tackle this fast course. The race starts from Old Trafford Cricket ground then you follow a 7mile loop around the city centre with plenty of supporters lining the street. A six mile long (and lonelier) straight takes you down to the halfway point before you meander around the cheering crowds and sound systems of Altrincham. Then begins the long road back to old Trafford….particularly long for those who go off way too fast at the beginning hoping to hold onto former marathon glory despite a lack of training (ah-hem).

First over the line from TRC was George Evans in 3:09:31 a good time….but no prizes for consistency as he stumbled over the line (see above). Fresh as a daisy and cheering on his team mates as he ran, Paul Thomas was next in with a very solid 03:21:22 and 63rd in category. Next was Nathan Darkin with a very consistently paced 03:35:57 and a top 500 category position. Our highest category position finisher was next – Hugh McPherson coming in at 62nd position with a very respectable time of 05:11:46.  Finally, with a herculean effort of 05:56:14 hours running time, was Jon Welsh.  Well done all TRC

London – Phil Blackburn

The weather forecast for London went from 20+ degrees and sunny, to cold and cloudy, much to the delight of all the marathon runners. It made great conditions for running as records fell in London. Rumours of a super-fast Kenyan athlete making their London marathon debut were confirmed as James Harrod lined up in Greenwich park. James Harrod made a brilliant start and was on for a 2.34 marathon before injuring his calf and having to pull out at the 20 mile mark. If Thornbury can poach James back from the Iten road runners, he will be sure to break the club record soon.

Even more impressive than Kelvin Kiptums London marathon record, was Jessica Heffer making her debut for Thornbury and smashing the club record set in 2009 by over 12 minutes. Jessica finished in a brilliant 3:04:25, and can surely go for a sub 3 next time!  Phil Blackburn was given the Club’s London place and after a good training block combining the weekly Tuesday interval sessions (thanks to Nick, Hannah and Kevin for standing in the cold every week to coach!) with consistent mileage, he was targeting a 2:50 marathon. Phil ran an even race, crossing halfway in 1:25 and kept the pace consistent. Despite cramping in the last mile and shuffling down the mall, Phil managed to hold on and claim the club London marathon record, finishing in 2:52:05, beating George Evans time from 2021 by 30 seconds. Rumours of a comeback by George have been circulating and a grudge match is now on the cards for 2024. There was another great performance from Kevin Cundy, who finished in 4:23:09, an 11 second PB! (according to powerof10). A brilliantly time and it must have been a sprint finish down the mall to pip his previous best from 2017.

26/04/23

 

 

 

Events, Results, Thornbury Running Club

 “As if by Magic Ben Bohane Appeared”

A Report on the Doynton Hard Half Marathon by George Evans

Sunday 5th February was the Doynton “hard” half. Thornbury RC had a phenomenal turnout with no less than 17 Thornbury runners lining up at the start. There was so many of us, they’d arranged for our own private car park and transport to the start!

A recent spell of dry weather meant that that the course was 4.5% faster than last year (apparently). Despite the dry weather, Emersons Green had designed the route to pick up as many of the muddy water courses and bogs as possible (….clearly envious of the Rollick’s reputation as one of the muddiest races around).

Thornbury were in great form, securing a 3rd team place behind Bristol & West AC and Town & Country Harriers. At one point it was looking like the Vegan Runners may pip TRC in the team rankings but luckily they were tripped over and eaten by two cows marshalling at the mile 12 mark.

First in for Thornbury was Nick Williams (1.35.56) who achieved a podium 3rd place! This was made even more remarkable by the fact that Nick ran the entire race in a Ben Bohane costume…so authentic it was a real job to tell them apart.

A gaggle of TRC runners followed in the top 50 coming inside 2hrs. Ben Foss (1.45.46) headed the pack with a strong finish whilst Rob Watkins (1.45.55) and George Evans (1.45.55) battled it out for TRC 3rd….with Rob turning on the speed for a last minute overtake to win the photo finish. Dylan Roberts (1.47.06) and Jim Godden (1.52.16) followed not far behind making TRC the first club to get 5 runners over the line! Rob and Jim also scored Category 2nd positions and George 3rd MV50.

Nathan Darkin (2.02.10), Paul Thomas (2.03.15), Melanie Wilson (2.04.22 – 3rd FV40), Laura Orna (2.09.20), Natalie Bennett (2.10.07), Jo Emerson (2.16.35) and Ros Rowland (2.16.35 3rd FV60) all finished in the next 100 runners making it tough for the other clubs to get a look in. Sonya Bryson (2.37.03) and Kevin Cundy (2.37.04) made a very photogenic finish for 273/274 with Kevin celebrating his 7th Doynton event, a complete record!

Hugh McPherson (2.54.27) and Arthur Renshaw (3.09.34), informed by the commentator as the oldest person in the race, swept up at the rear of the TRC pack and looked like they could run the race again.

Overall a great TRC performance on a beautiful day. Well done all!

Full results here: https://www.doyntonhardhalfmarathon.co.uk/results

Cross Country, Results

Gloucester League Race 2 – Arlingham 10th December 2022 Report

On a bitterly cold, fresh day four intrepid runners braved the tundra like conditions and camped down next to the Dursley tent at the latest Gloucester League Cross Country at Milton End, Arlingham on the banks of the River Severn.  These were the TRC runners and, being for the men’s V65 race and Jo for the ladies’ race, we dressed up in various layers, gloves, headwear, long shorts and leggings against freezing conditions. At least one of us warmed up and went along the bank to see the river serenely flowing round the Horseshoe Bend. 

We sauntered over for the start and were amazed at the audacity of youth as we viewed the U17 boys in the same race, lean and athletic and dressed only in singlets and flimsy shorts. Was it really like that? 

On the start we hobbled across the field, up the bank and alongside the river as it glided placidly round the bend. Off the bank we headed off through a maze of fields and gateways, the still frozen, tussocky ground throwing feet in unwanted directions and remembering the instructions that dark patches could still be icy as we went through muddy gateways. 

Nick Langridge led the contingent and had much the same race as at Cirencester, catching the Forest of Dean V70 rival on the first lap only for the opponent to surge back and take a lead in front. Nick closed down a gap in the second lap and managed to keep in front but although he tried was unable to shake him off and despite an effort across the last field, the rival again had a better finishing spurt, I hardly dare say we sprinted, and pipped Nick on the line. Nick finished 69th and 2nd MV70 in 31:04. Next time.  

Jo Plumbley came in next, elegantly striding round the banks and field in full winter gear for 102nd in 33:53. Chris Foley was next to arrive, flushed from the fresh breeze out of the freezer and looking like his glasses were steaming up, 119th in 36:10 and 4th MV70. We waited for Arthur Renshaw as we saw him appear puffing along, seeming to pause before considering the climb on to the river bank, then down and across the field for 152nd in 42:57 with still a few behind him. 

We walked back to our encampment, all commenting of the difficulty of the frozen tussocks and it was only then that someone pointed out to Nick that he had run the race with his club vest on back to front. Poor bloke, it’s old age, you know. At least the number was on the right side and he hadn’t run backwards. 

Alas, one lady doesn’t make a team so there were no results for the ladies’ team. But as for the Men’s V65 team, and we were actually all V70, we finished second, losing out to Dursley’s, dare I say it, slightly younger team. 

It was then that we noticed the men’s team were arriving. They ignored us and camped somewhere else, presumably not wanting to be associated with the old lags. We saw them set off for their race and counted the vests through, then made for the car park. As we were on the way, the men came past again as they looped through half a lap and a discussion on the merits of various Radio 5 Live presenters was briefly interrupted as we gave Paul Thomes a shout. I think he smiled.  

We continued and headed for warmth so nothing to report on the race itself but it must have been quite a battle at the front of the Thornbury runners as Ben Bohane in 53rd position and Andy Wilson in 54th finished in the same time of 36:56. Connor Vidal-Cocker was 84th in 39:41, and Paul Thomas 114th in 42:37. David Hobbs was also entered and we counted 5 vests so a DNF. 

Alas and alack, this also was not enough for a senior or vets team so there were no team results for the men either so in this most of team events it was left to the old men, or masters as we are known, to carry the team banner for Thornbury. Yes, we may be old, hobble about a bit, huff and puff, pause for breath, wrap up against the cold and occasionally put a vest on back to front but we did get a team out – and that’s a challenge to the others. 

Cross Country, Members, Results, Thornbury Running Club

Glos League cross-country – race report, 5th November 2022

Race report written by George Evans

It’s wet and cold so it must be cross country season again! The first race of the 2022-23 series took place at a damp, windy, yet beautifully autumnal, Cirencester Park. Despite the recent heavy rain, ground conditions were an improvement on 2021 making for a faster course.

Thornbury fielded a slightly leaner turnout than 2021…perhaps because Jo Plumbley couldn’t make it, so everyone knew we’d be down on cakes.

Holding up the women’s team was Hannah Hamilton finishing in a very respectable 80th position (field of 192) with a time of 34.20.

He has more records than the KGB and Nick Langridge didn’t disappoint at Cirencester, finishing 109th in the combined Ladies and +MV65 race…only narrowly missing out on age adjusted 1st position by 3 seconds!!

The men’s race saw a field of 208 (and a lot of them looked like they could run). Top 3 from Thornbury were led in by Ben Bohane finishing in 48th (41.20) followed by Andy Wilson in 68th (42.38) and David Hobbs 83rd overall and 6th in age category (43.32). Conner Vidal-Cocker notched up a very respectable first cross-country race in 101st place with a very respectable time of 45.22.

Sweeping up the rear for Thornbury was George Evans (107th in 45:46) and a “pretty much straight off the operating table” Jim Godden (137th in 48:22). Given his only very recent return to training, Jim was looking very strong and finished 4th overall in his age category. This season see’s Jim entering the next age category (undisclosed) and based on this performance I suspect we’ll be seeing a lot more age adjusted podium positions this season….no pressure Jim 😉

Members, News, Results, Thornbury Running Club

FABULOUS FOLEY REENACTS PROCLAIMERS’ HIT

During September and early October, the amazing Chris Foley has turned up at just about every major road race in the calendar to string together an incredible series of results.

When combined with his training efforts, he has surely run 500 miles. Considering the Proclaimers only walked it, and even then had plenty of Irn Bru breaks on route, Chris’ is surely the superior feat of endurance. Although walking/running 500 miles is losing its cachet as the ultimate romantic gesture. I offered to do it for my wife, but she said she’d prefer it if I just loaded the dishwasher and took the bins out once in a while.

I’ve already reported on Chris’ excellent effort at the Great North Run, with a run well inside two hours for the Half, and just missing out on a top-10 age-category finish.

Yet that was just a mere warm-up for the main event, the London Marathon, the capo de tutti capi of all road races. Chris completed the demanding 26.2 miles in under four and a half hours and flew the TRC flag alongside the wonderful Hannah Hamilton. Hannah was the deserved recipient of the club’s guaranteed marathon entry this year, and she made the most of it, and should be absolutely delighted with her sub 3hrs 30 min run which demonstrated just how well her training plan came together for the big day.

The lactate was still stiffening the sinews when Chris dusted off the daps and turned out on the streets of Bath for the long-anticipated and much-rearranged half marathon. A mere fortnight after London, Chris ran a brilliant 1 hr 55 minutes to beat his time set in Gateshead. Roger Glew also ran at Bath and should be very pleased with his 1 hr 51 minutes, which is a good two minutes quicker than his time at Bristol the previous month. The fastest TRC performance of the day went to George Evans – the Kington Kipchoge – who also improved on his Bristol performance with a brilliant 1 hr 23 mins 31 secs. This was an average pace, per mile, of 6 mins 22 secs.

However, Chris wasn’t done yet, and just seven days later, turned up at Stroud for what was, by all accounts, a foul day with howling wind and lashing rain. Yet Chris ran 1 hr 51 minutes to slice another sizeable slab of time off his effort of the week before. So there you have it, boys and girls, forget resting and tapering and carefully scheduling your efforts – just run marathons and half-marathons every week and you’ll get faster and faster! Until you get injured of course, but hey, this isn’t a coaching column!

The Stroud Half was the latest in the Pete Mainstone Challenge series, and aside from Chris’ heroics, there were some other excellent performances from Thornbury members. Nick Langridge was the fastest TRC runner on the day, running 1 hr 39 minutes, which for his age-category equates to an 81% score. It goes without saying that he was the winner in the category too. Nick is looking strong favourite to retain the overall race-series title he won last year.

Jo Plumbley was the only Thornbury lady to take part, and she ran an excellent 1hr 44. Not many of our ladies’ team have taken part in the PM Challenge this year, but with several races to go it looks like it could still be a very close contest to see who secures the title. Richard Jackson is improving all the time and he ran a fabulous 1hr 40 minutes; all the more impressive considering the conditions. Hugh McPherson was just outside the 2 hr mark but would still have finished high up in his age category.

Results

HALF MARATHON SPECIAL – race report w/e 25th September

The Great Run company has now decided to hold the Bristol 10k and Half Marathon on a single day. I guess that makes sense, as they only have to close the roads on one day – even if many athletes would love to run both events each year.

However the atmosphere in Bristol city centre on Sunday was extraordinary. Everywhere you looked there were runners, and cheering spectators lined the route in their thousands. The simple innovation of printing first-names on the race number meant you got to hear your name called out by hundreds of kind supporters, and I can’t tell you what a curiously motivating boost it is to hear your name called out by a total stranger! The Great Bristol Run is civic life at its best – and I would urge each and every TRC member to consider signing up next year. It’s such a privilege to run on closed streets around our beautiful city, so if you have not done it before, then you’re in for a treat!

Before turning to the results in Bristol, a brief recap on the TRC heroes who braved the howling gales of the frozen North to compete in the Great North Run. This is Europe’s (the world’s?) largest mass-participation half marathon, and such is the demand for places that if it gets any bigger they might have to move the race to the rolling, manicured lawns of Ant ‘n’ Dec’s country estate in order to accommodate everyone.

Chris Foley finished comfortably inside two hours, and that outstanding achievement secured him an 11th place in his age category; in a race of tens of thousands, there are bound to be some particularly pacy pensioners to go up against, so Chris should be delighted with that result.

Melanie Wilson ran a parkrun the day before, which is the sort of decision Sir Humphrey Appleby would describe as ‘courageous’, yet she still ran an impressive 1hr 42 mins and 38 seconds. She was only 15 seconds behind Kevin Wood who also recorded 11th place in his age category.

What is even more impressive, however, is the fact that a mere fortnight later Kevin ran his second half marathon of the month in Bristol, and managed to run a bit quicker too, finishing in third place in his age category, in a time of 1 hr 41mins and 38 seconds. It is a magnificent feat to run two halfs at that intensity in such a short space of time. Definitely overall performance of the month!

However, despite my obvious bias, I am sure Kevin will concede that the individual performance of the month has to go to 19 yr old James Harrod. We always suspected that James might be quite good over the half marathon distance, but you never really know until you try and race one. He set off with that wonderful confidence of youth, leading a large pack of runners, who were behind the runaway winner. James went through 10k in 34 mins and 10 seconds, in second place, and soon whittled the chasing pack to just three runners.

Perhaps inevitably, he couldn’t quite match the final surges of the athletes who came second and third, and was disappointed to be overhauled in the last mile by a fast-finishing Bristol athlete, but he still crossed the line in 5th place overall, first junior, in a time of 1 hr 13 mins and 2 seconds.

Not far behind James, Phil Blackburn produced another stunning performance to knock almost four minutes off the time he recorded in last year’s race. Phil surged through the field and finished in 1 hr 22 mins and 18 seconds. Phil’s progress is largely down to having had 12 months of consistent, aerobic-based training, combined with his faster efforts on the track. There is still so much more to come, and I think he could now aim to run under 80 minutes some time in 2023.

Paul Harrod was next home in a PB of 1 hr 24 mins exactly. He managed to squeeze ahead of George Evans, the real life inspiration behind Inspector Gadget, who put on his go-go bionic legs for this race, and made a mockery of a long period of injury niggles, to race to a 1 hr 25 min and 19 seconds finish. But more importantly George was the overall winner in his age category (which can’t be revealed for security reasons). That is a wonderful achievement, and to come top in ANY category in a race of this size and scale is something the whole club should celebrate.

Connor Vidal-Cocker was next home in a fraction under 1 hr 28. I think he’s just a year or two behind Phil in developing that endurance base that should enable him to run these longer events in times commensurate with his already very impressive results over shorter distances. The ever-consistent Garry Slater also ran 1 hr 28 mins, while Peter Cable made what I think was his half-marathon debut (?) but either way should be pleased with his 1 hr 32. Dylan Roberts has not been able to train much recently, and we know at his best he’d be up there challenging Phil, but such is Dylan’s natural ability that he essentially jogged round the course, and still finished in 1 hr 33 minutes. We all hope to see him in full stride very soon.

Daniel Nott finished in 1 hr 45 minutes, while Stuart Barnes and Roger Glew were only a few seconds apart in 1 hr 53 minutes, and I think both of them may have run PBs for the distance.

The Bristol 10k race was the first event of the day, and while it attracted fewer TRC runners than the Half, it was actually the more competitive race, as it featured a Home International competition that seemed to be very closely contested between runners from England and Wales.

Andrew Darton has finally been able to train properly without injury setbacks, which is fantastic news, and he backed up a recent 20 min parkrun with a fine effort of 41:37 to be first Thornbury runner. Jonathan Hall ran 48:08 while Sam Glew finished in 1 hr 7 minutes.

Members, Results, Thornbury Running Club

NICK WILLIAMS AT THE OCC – AND PETE MAINSTONE CHALLENGE RACE 4

What’s the most competitive race in the world that an amateur runner has a chance to compete in?

You could make a case for one of the big city marathons – London, New York, Tokyo etc. But while they will feature the very best marathon runners on the globe, the vast majority of competitors are ‘the masses,’ as Brendan Foster insisted on calling them.

So how about the Ultra-Trail Mont Blanc, and its sister event the OCC, which is a shorter version of the main event, although that just means the athletes run at a higher intensity. It is 55km of incredibly demanding trail running, at altitude, featuring many sections that are tricky to ski down let alone run. To even have a chance to take part you have to qualify by doing several other long-distance races, and perform at a high level, and then every single athlete that does make it, drawn from nations across the world, is a serious and dedicated ultra-runner.

Huge congratulations to Nick Williams therefore for a monumental effort to come a fraction outside the top 100 in the men’s event. He was the 5th British runner to finish, and many of the runners ahead of him would be professional or semi-professional athletes. Nick looked to be in good form judging by his wins at the TRC club 10k championship, and at the mob match, and it was fantastic to see him put it all together on his favourite trails.

Round 4 of the Pete Mainstone challenge took place at the Severn Bridge 10k. This was an excellent event, organised by the company that still operates the Severn Bridges, and must be the only race in the UK where you get to run on a closed motorway. I was very impressed with the quality of the tarmac. Cut above what you get on the A38.

Compared to what Nick put himself through in the Chamonix Valley, this event was a doddle. However the old Severn Bridge is still deceptively steep, especially as the route took us up and down the slip roads which made the total elevation much more than we’re used to for the shorter 5k parkrun. In fact, there was barely any flat section at all; it was all up or down hill, plus you’re very exposed to even the lightest wind on that bridge, which had a cumulative impact when having to run the first three miles into a headwind. So not a PB course. Yet the race organisers made it a very special event, even if they snuck in a horrible lung-busting 200m climb up a footpath just yards before the finish.

I could tell we were getting close to the finish as you could hear the music from the loudspeakers getting ever louder. Katy Perry was insisting I was a firework – and to be fair my arms do resemble a malfunctioning Catherine Wheel when I get tired. Freddie Mercury was adamant that no one should stop me – oh, but please do!- as I was having such a good time. But that was no longer the case by the 10th kilometre!

TRC recorded some excellent overall results. There were more than 500 runners in the race, and yet we had two runners in the overall top 10, and two age-category winners. Phil Blackburn was the star performer once again, and his time of 37:27 was close to his overall 10k PB which suggests this was an exceptional run even by Phil’s meteoric standards. Hopefully he’ll find a flat 10k on a cool autumn day and go well under 36 minutes. Phil was fourth overall, and only narrowly missed out on a podium place.

Paul Harrod was 9th overall, and first VM45 in 39:57 which was some way off his best. Kevin Wood had an excellent run, cheered on by picnicking family members on the grass verge – a less salubrious al fresco location when the articulated lorries are thundering past, but a lovely spot on Sunday. Kevin was 66th in 47:01 and the clear winner in his age category, and he also took the honours in the age-adjusted rankings for this event. Chris Foley was 113th in 51:34 which is a really fantastic time on that course.

Hugh McPherson was inside the top 200 in a time just outside 56 minutes. Karen Carr just missed out on breaking the one hour mark, but did duck into the top 100 in the women’s race which is an excellent achievement. Liz Baird finished in 63 minutes, and beat 150 runners on the day.

Events, News, Results, Thornbury Running Club, Uncategorized

Thornbury vs Chepstow mob match report

Generations of Chepstow children have gazed out across the shimmering Severn and wondered who was so rich and famous that they got to live in that Big White House?  The Mayor of Thornbury?  Arthur Renshaw?

So there was palpable excitement from our Mob Match opponents, Chepstow Harriers, as they turned out in force, excited by the opportunity to see this landmark abode for themselves.  Hopefully they weren’t too disappointed to discover it was a decommissioned nuclear power-plant.   Still, they must be warmly congratulated for turning out in such fantastic numbers for an away fixture in August.  Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, and owner of Thornbury Castle, must be rolling in his substantial grave.  Although his efforts to keep the Welsh at bay have been somewhat undermined in recent decades by the M4 and M48 bridges.   

With the mercury still above 30 degrees at 7pm there was a suggestion that the Mob Match be resolved over games of petanque at the Anchor, washed down with ice-cold sauvignon blanc.  Instead after a very cursory ‘warm up’ we found ourselves assembling for a 5km dash along the Mad Max-esque bleached-blonde banks of the Severn, to the consternation and utter bewilderment of the slow-strolling dog-walkers.

Any thoughts that the run out into the headwind would be a cagey and tactical affair were immediately dispelled by Nick Williams charging off at 5 min 45 mile pace.  Andy Wilson’s usual race tactic is to run himself to the point of utter exhaustion, and then accelerate. He was the only other runner willing and/or able to pick up Nick’s gauntlet, and Andy pushed his team mate all the way to the finish line.   Nick a deserved winner of the 3 mile race in 16 mins and 56 seconds, with Andy a fine second place just five seconds behind.

Phil Blackburn has taken a well-earned holiday following the end of the football season, so was maybe not quite at his sharpest, although I wonder what would have happened if he’d gone with the leaders.   He still picked his way through the field to finish in 4th place overall, just behind the lead Chepstow runner, in 17 mins 15 seconds. Conner Vidal-Cocker is a relatively recent recruit to the TRC stable, but he already looks like a thoroughbred champion in waiting.  He paced his effort to perfection, pulling away from a cohort of Chepstownians, to finish in 5th, in 17:29.  Paul Harrod, who was a human parasol for a group of runners on the out-leg, also finished strongly in 17:47 to finish 7th.   At this early stage TRC were well out in the lead of the men’s and overall race.

Unfortunately at this point Chepstow’s weight of numbers started to tell, and they stacked the positions from 8th to 30th with just a handful of TRC runners bucking the trend.   That is not to say there were not some excellent individual performances within that mix.  Jim Godden ran a fantastic 19:32; Ash Blackmore ran 20:28, while George Evans in 20:32 and Asten Haynes, 20:49, are both recovering from injury, and should be heartily thanked for turning out to bag us some points despite both knowing they’d be far further up the tow-path if fully fit.

It takes a special athlete to beat the top TRC female runners, and so we should congratulate the brilliant Katherine Matthews who won the ladies race, and was 8th overall, in 18 minutes flat.  Such was the quality of performance from Chepstow’s leading ladies that Avon 10k road champion Lucie Wilson had to settle for 4th place, in a still fabulous time of 19:28.   Club road race champion Ali Vaz was second TRC lady, and 6th overall, in 20 mins exactly.  Jo Plumbley was brilliantly consistent as always to come home next for TRC in 21:34, just 10 seconds or so ahead of Natalie Bennett who had to sprint to the line to hold off a trio of fast-finishing Harriers.   Julia Jolley in 23:33 and  Ashleigh Ferris in 24 minutes exactly made up our top 6.   Despite these wonderful efforts Chepstow won the overall ladies competition pretty decisively.

Apologies that there is not the space to mention everyone who ran.  It was, without exception, a tremendous achievement to run in that heat and to score points for our team.  Even if a few sun-sapped and heat-addled later finishers mistook the picnic table set up 50 yards up the path for the finish line. Inevitably Chepstow’s numerical advantage meant they won the match, but our senior men definitely had the edge at the top-end of the field.   Perhaps we need to annex Berkeley to boost our numbers for future matches?
  
A huge thank you to Kevin Wood, and his family, and all those who organised this brilliant event.   Thank you to the marshals, and especially to Carol Mosses.   She was the sole person at the kissing gate, and not only coped with a wave of runners hurtling through the tiny gap in the gate, but even had time to set up a temporary traffic-light system to give priority to the faster-returning runners.   Which also meant that our Chepstow guests got a taste of the authentic Thornbury experience.  Thank you to the Chepstow captain for organising the chip-timing; that really enhanced the race, and meant we got the results accurately and promptly.   There was a warm and convivial atmosphere between the teams as we refreshed ourselves in the gardens of the Anchor pub by the light of the Sturgeon moon.  The Harriers returned home in triumph to Chepstow – or ‘transfluvial Thornbury’ as the estate agents call it in a bid to boost house prices.  But the best result of the night was the growing consensus that this fixture is now going to be a regular event in our club calendars.

Members, Results, Thornbury Running Club

Cotswold Way Relay 2022 – race report

The Cotswold Way Relay gets harder each year. I can’t imagine the depths of endurance required, the relentless mental focus, and the sheer, bloody-minded determination it takes. Some say it is an impossible job.

Yet somehow Judy Mills manages to get three teams out, and ensures the correct race results are fed back.

As for running the race? That’s the easy bit!

A huge thank you once again to Judy, and fellow team captains Rob Watkins and Kev Cundy for coaxing and cajoling 27 TRC members to make up our three relay teams. Rob led the Firethorn team, which had to be reshuffled more times than Boris’ Cabinet – a motley crew of over-40s male veterans, who somehow managed to tape themselves up and make it to the start-line.

Kevin helmed the Quickthorn team – a mixture of some of the club’s fastest and youngest prospects, alongside some wily older hands. There really is no substitute for experience at this level. Well, apart from running speed, but let’s not be picky. Firethorn and Quickthorn looked evenly matched on paper. Last year the male vets team only secured victory by a handful of minutes with the race still up for grabs going into the final leg. Judy captained the Hawthorn team, another mixed team, although sadly not a full roster on this occasion.

There was never a chance of a repeat of 2018 and 2019’s furnace-like conditions. However the wind (and later the rain) played a significant part. Usually the prevailing south-westerly deals a glancing blow to the runners on the more exposed early stages. This year the Minchinhampton Mistral smacked into our faces with all the force of a Tyson Fury straight right, and the only time the wind eased was when the rain had settled in. It was soon apparent this was unlikely to be a year for course records.

Stage 1 often attracts some of the best runners, as the leading teams stack their line-ups. This year the stage was won by a multiple winner of the South West cross country title, and a 15 min 5k runner. That puts Ben Bohane’s eighth place overall into perspective. This was yet another remarkable run from the club’s Stokes-like all-rounder who covered this 12 mile stage, featuring savagely steep ascents and descents, in a fraction over 90 mins, despite getting lost at one point. However any thought that Quickthorn would establish a commanding early lead in the intra-club race was short-lived, as emerging out of the early-morning mist, like a modern day Owain Glyndwr (with an advanced accounting qualification) came Nathan Darkin in a fabulous run of 1hr 46 mins. Collette Jackson got Hawthorn on the board with a fine run of 1hr 56.

Paul Thomas clawed that time back for Firethorn on leg 2. His recent ultra runs on trails clearly helped him on this very demanding stage. Paul descended like a wheel of the finest Double Gloucester to take a splendid second place in the vets race, and despite an excellent CWR debut for women’s club 10k champion Ali Vaz, who ran 2hr 7mins, Paul took Firethorn into the lead. Not far behind Ali was Julia Jolley in 2hrs 15.

Chris Foley and Mike Bennewitz would be quietly confident in any race that was scored on an age-adjusted basis. However the CWR is done solely on time, yet they still did their teams proud. On the journey up, Chris suggested he was aiming for 1hr 45, but instead obliterated that mark with a fabulous time of just over 1hr 28 mins. Mike was not far behind, finishing as the rain began to fall, with an excellent 1hr 39. Paul Harrod took Firethorn into the lead in the overall vets competition with a solid run of 1hr 6 mins, that earned him a top-10 place, and second male veteran. That would have been two minutes quicker if not for getting lost on one section, and quicker still if he could find a way of negotiating the sharpest descents in a style that doesn’t resemble a broken fridge-freezer being lowered into a municipal skip.

Sadly there was no runner for Hawthorn on leg 4, but there was excitement in seeing whether Danny Bonnett could extend Firethorn’s lead over Quickthorn, especially when up against club legend Jo Plumbley, who has run the Cotswold Way so frequently I’m surprised they haven’t named a section after her. Danny did a brilliant job in what I think may be his club racing debut (??) finishing 4th veteran in 1hr 38. Jo ran brilliantly, as always, and her 2hr 7 mins was very competitive in her personal age category, but the remorseless logic of the stopwatch meant that team Firethorn was now pulling ahead. Would the club competition be over before we even got to Stroud?

Not so fast! Leg 5 saw one of the day’s highlights, and an extremely rare, and therefore all the more celebrated, stage win for TRC. The brilliant Sean Leadbetter managed to outsprint his Bristol and West rival to complete the 11.7 mile stage in a staggering (literally, at the end, I imagine) 1hr and 20 mins. A quite brilliant achievement – chapeau! Sean’s win grabbed back some time for Quickthorn, but not perhaps as much as might be expected, because Firethorn had the ever-reliable George Evans – the Lycra Woman’s Nigel Havers – on the same leg. George was inside the top 15 – second veteran – and only conceded 16 minutes to the outstanding stage winner. Judy Mills took a break from the incessant race admin by running 2hrs and 28 mins for Hawthorn.

Kev Cundy and Jim Williams finished stage 6 almost at the same time, both recording 1hr 47 mins over one of the legs with more elevation than descent: Ebley Mill to Dursley. Chris Worrall buttressed Firethorn’s lead with a wonderful run of 1hr and 15 minutes, which started to pull the team safely into the top 3 of the overall veterans’ competition. Chris was also second vet in the race, and 9th overall. I hope he is going to be a regular racer for TRC over the roads and trails for many years to come.

There was eager anticipation to see the outcome of the race on stage 7 between father and son-in-law Kevin Wood and Chris Pritchard. In the end the gaps between all three TRC runners was the closest of any stage. Ellen Perrett had an excellent race for Hawthorn, and finished in 1hr 27 minutes. Kevin kept Firethorn in the hunt for overall veteran competition honours by running 1h 16. Chris played it safe, and rather like surreptitiously missing a putt on the 18th when playing golf against your boss, he finished a discrete couple of minutes behind Kevin! In all seriousness, Kevin deserves our congratulations, and thanks, for overcoming some significant back pain to not only race, but to do so with distinction.

Stage 8 is one of the longest and toughest in the race, and so Firethorn needed a dependable runner to maintain their lead over Quickthorn, and aim for a strong position in the overall team competition. Thankfully they had that in Garry Slater, who finished in a magnificent third place in the vets race in 1hr 38. Sadly Quickthorn didn’t have a runner for this stage, which essentially ended the intra-TRC competition, but Hawthorn had Rob Hopkins, who must have wondered what the fuss was all about – (only 12 miles of 1 in 3 gradient – too easy!) – who ran 2hrs and 8 minutes.

If a TRC stage win is a rarity, two in a day is possibly a first! The club librarians are still consulting the archives, but I think Taryn Roberts has once again made history. She was the clear winner in the tough stage 9 – and recorded the 6th fastest time by a female athlete in the history of that stage, in 1hr 9 mins and 52 seconds. More importantly she beat Rob Watkins by seven seconds, and I wish I’d been there to witness that sprint finish into Cold Ashton! To be so close to Taryn meant that Rob obviously had a wonderful race himself, and he was yet another Firethorn runner to come home as second male veteran overall. In my opinion Clare Watt is arguably the best runner in the club on an age-graded basis, and while this race is done purely on time, her effort of 1hr 24 minutes was still an incredibly good performance. I think Clare, Rob and stage-winner Taryn win the award for best collective stage by TRC runners this year.

And so, as the afternoon sun dappled across the honey-coloured stones of Bath Abbey (or maybe the rain lashed against the buttresses and battlements – it was a day of changeable weather) Hannah Hamilton and Jim Godden completed another successful day of racing. The final stage, like the opening stage, tends to have some of the best overall runners, so their positions as eighth woman and seventh male veteran would probably have been higher had they raced on other legs. Jim finished in 1hr 16 and Hannah in 1hr 20.

The remarkable consistency of the Firethorn vets team won us a third place overall in the team competition – in a cumulative time of 14hrs and 29 minutes, just 8 minutes behind Team Bath. We just should have run 1% quicker and we’d have been second! That is still a fantastic team performance, and (lente, lente, currite noctis equi) the inexorable march of time means that some of the club’s promising young mid-30 year olds should soon become available for selection. Team Quickthorn need to regroup and lick their (presumably bramble?) wounds. They were missing a few of the club’s very fastest runners this year, but should be more than consoled with two heroic stage wins for Sean and Taryn. Hawthorn sadly didn’t get a full team out this year, but still have some excellent individuals performances, especially if age-graded results were taken into account.

Next year the Cotswold Way Relay wends it way through Clarkson Country on Saturday 1st July. Please put the date in your diary, and let’s give the team captains some selection headaches to go alongside the admin ones!